Registering wishes about organ and tissue donation: personal discussion during licence renewal may be superior to online registration.

Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. mitchell@eye.usyd.edu.au

Abstract

Consent to organ and tissue donation is higher when the deceased has indicated a wish to donate. The Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR) is the national register of preferences regarding donation. The AODR has a number of limitations; it has no mechanism for requiring individuals to register their wishes, while the online format both raises concerns about the validity of the consent obtained and precludes personal discussion of fears and concerns about donation. A solution to these limitations is to utilize state-based agencies that administer driving licences. This strategy ties the donation decision to an existing task (renewal of driving licences), and provides an opportunity for a personalized intervention at the time the decision is being made.